


New Girl In Town

by andiamaprincess (ishipthemsogoddamnhard), AnnaNavarroM



Series: Everything Has Changed [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Crushes, F/M, Freedom Pals - Freeform, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-08-29 10:09:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16742026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishipthemsogoddamnhard/pseuds/andiamaprincess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaNavarroM/pseuds/AnnaNavarroM
Summary: Amy moves to South Park and soon befriends Kenny. After she is welcomed into the group - and joins Freedom Pals - how will things change between them all as they grow up?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rated Gen for now but this will likely change as we go through the story. Tags will be updated as we go :)

Moving into a new town is never something easy. All the boxes and empty rooms, combined with the lack of comfort that came with an unfurnished house, were enough to make Amy want to scream. Her parents were feeling the tension too. Every five or so minutes, a new argument blew up between them, filling the new house's air with this heavy atmosphere that kinda made Amy nauseous. That's why she decided to simply go out for a walk around the streets. 

The cool Colorado air felt extremely good against her flushed skin, which made her sigh with relief. It was kinda disappointing, to be honest, that she hadn't seen any other kids her age up until that point. She guessed it was only a matter of time before she bumped into anyone. 

Kenny really didn’t want to go home. It was one of those days where he just knew tonight was going to suck with his parents bullshit. He had been with Stan and Kyle most of the day, since Fatass was at his Grandmother’s, but they had to go home. What with the shitty timing of Karen being at the Tucker’s for a sleepover with Tricia - well, good timing for her but shitty for him - he was gonna be stuck with them. It wasn’t even five, but his dad had been drunk before he even went out to see his friends… He didn’t even have a job and yet the weekends were always somehow worse. So Kenny found himself sitting on a swing in the playground, just to delay getting back to his house. 

Amy had wandered through the town until evening. The sun was still shining in the sky, but it was already past five. She had already walked through all of the houses in her neighborhood and tried her best to memorize them by color, even though she still didn't know who lived there. She supposed it would be easier to remember which kids lived where once she had made some friends. At least she hoped she could make some friends. She wasn't an extremely quiet girl, but being in a new town could definitely cause someone to retreat inside themselves for a while. After all, she had no idea how the kids in that place were...

She eventually just came across a playground that looked rather nice, but was extremely empty. All the kids had already gone home by that time, which gave the place this rather eerie feeling. She was about to go back when, she spotted a boy that looked to be around my age, sitting all by himself on a swing. He was wearing a big orange parka that covered most of his face, however, Amy thought he looked very lonely. She timidly approached the boy and did her best to sound friendly. "Hey, there. What are you doing out here all alone? Its kinda cold."

Kenny had been daydreaming about nothing in particular, wishing things were different. Or maybe he was just resigned to how they were after dealing with it his whole life. When Karen was home, it was better, and he had a reason not to get in his own head. They would stay in his room when things got bad and she would fall asleep curled in his bed. He was her hero. The whole Mysterion thing started as a joke with the others but then it became more for her. She needed him.

Hearing a girl’s voice while thinking about his sister startled Kenny a little. He looked up through a combination of messy blonde hair and the fur around his hood to see a face he didn’t recognise. That was weird. The girl was around his age but even if she had been a grade above or below, he figured he would still have known her. South Park was like that. “It’s always fucking cold here, you must be new.” He said with a smile.

It was a little hard to make out the boy’s face. He was wearing the parka pulled tightly around his face, hiding both his hair and his mouth. The only things that were visible were his nose and eyes, which were a very pretty shade of blue, a little darker and less icy han her own. His speech was muffled by the hood, which made a little difficult to make out what he said, but Amy managed anyways and couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's shameless foul mouth. First day in a new town and already meeting weird kids? She loved it! "Well, actually, I am! I just moved here with my parents. My name's Amy. What's yours?" She said, returning his friendly smile. 

“Oh cool. I’m Kenny. What grade are you in?” Kenny figured she just wanted to be less lonely in a new place. She would forget he existed when she met some of the others. Then again. Amy seemed fun, and didn’t roll her eyes or flounce off at what he had said like most of the girls at school would have. It didn’t hurt that she was prettier than most of them too. Really striking eyes. She actually seemed to _want_ to talk to him too, which was kinda unusual. Most people just saw Kenny as ‘the poor kid’ or ‘the youngest McCormick boy’ or ‘Stan’s friend’. 

"Nice to meet you, Kenny! I'm in fourth grade. I'll be starting this Monday." Amy said, taking a seat on the swing beside him. He seemed a little shy and closed off, which made Amy want to break into his shell even more. She always felt drawn to introverted and broken people, for some reason. Of course, she didn't really know if this boy was actually any of those things but overall, he seemed nice. Despite the obvious potty mouth, he had a gentle voice and a friendly way of talking, which made her want to keep talking to him. She honestly hoped that more of the kids in this town were like him, but she knew that was probably a little too much to ask. 

Kenny turned towards her, leaning on the chain of the swing. “I’m in fourth grade too. Guess you’ll be stuck with us.” He smirked, secretly pleased about this. He wasn’t as awkward being friends with girls as some of his friends, and it was nice to talk to someone he hadn’t known his entire life or seen every single day. She was certainly friendly and not stuck up like most of Wendy’s group. He wondered where she was from. Not a small, crappy town like this anyway. “Where did you live before?”

Amy started to lightly swing back and forth. "Well, I lived in a lot of places, mostly big cities. My parents are busy business people, and I spent most of my life jumping from city to city. Before we came here, we lived in Washington for a little over a year." She explained, thinking about the city she had grown to love in the little time spent there. Life there was something entirely different from a little mountain town like South Park. You didn't know that many people, and kids couldn't play on the streets unless they wanted to be hit by a car. It was a rather lonely life, to be honest, but Amy always loved the frenetic buzz. "I guess my parents thought that moving to South Park was going to be a breath of fresh air from all the craziness of the Capital. They also thought it was gonna be best for me. I didn't have that many friends in Washington." She said with a little sigh, stopping the swing to glance at Kenny.

“So you’re a rich kid?” He asked, only teasing but still trying to hide his disappointment. Pretty _and_ from a good family - she wouldn’t be so friendly if she really knew him. 

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm rich... I don't get everything I want, if that's what you're wondering!" Amy said with a bashful expression. "My parents wanna make sure that I don't become a spoiled brat like some of their friends' kids, so they kinda keep me on a short leash. Which is good, I guess. I'd hate to be as snobby as some of the kids I used to play with!” It was true that she lived a good life, but she tried not to let this go to her head. She never missed the opportunity to make new friends, regardless of their financial state. She felt strongly that kids shouldn't be blamed for their parents' choices. "Do you think kids here are gonna give me a hard time for being 'rich'?" She asked, making air quotes with her fingers because she kinda hated that word.

“Nahh.” He shook his head kindly, hoping he wasn’t going to end up eating his words. He didn’t really have the heart to tell her it meant her chances of making other friends could go either way. She would either be welcomed by the girls with open arms or shunned out of jealousy. Perhaps she would end up dating someone like Token, or Kyle and then maybe she’d be ok... She definitely didn’t seem like a typical rich bitch and he could tell that under all her confidence, she really did want to have friends here. He chewed on his lip behind my parka zip, choosing his words. “We already have a spoiled brat, his name is Token, and even he’s our friend now.” It sounded like Amy’s parents were nothing like them, though. Or like his own for that matter. Guaranteed they didn’t even know where he was, or care, and here was this girl saying she was kept on a short leash. Kenny had no idea what that was like... 

Amy smiled at Kenny, feeling extremely happy to have made a friend in this new town. She felt a little shy, all of a sudden, wondering what to say. She wasn't always the best at communicating, especially if she was just starting to get acquainted with someone. Amy really wanted to get to know this boy better, though. There was something odd about him, but not in a bad way exactly. He had this heavy aura around him, like he was an extremely old soul, and he seemed deep in thought

Just as she was about to speak again, the sudden ring of her phone broke the silence. Turning from him, Amy took her phone from her pocket to find a text from her mom asking her to come home. With a heavy sigh, she turned back to Kenny and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my mom wants me to go back. She's probably going to make me help her unpack everything! I'll see you around, then?"

“Sure...good luck with that!” He returned her smile, knowing she maybe didn’t see it with the parka, then watched her walk away. He didn’t want her to go. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised though, since now he was _really_ out of excuses to stay there. She was headed the opposite way from his house, which figured, and Kenny was really curious where she lived...but that would have to wait. 

Reluctantly, Kenny dragged himself home.


	2. Chapter 2

The weekend flew by. 

Amy had had to spend hours helping her parents unpack and organize the house, which meant she had absolutely no time to have fun or get to know the neighborhood. During the weekend, she had secretly hoped she could sneak out for a few minutes to try and find Kenny around town, but unfortunately, she hadn't had a single moment of peace. 

When Monday finally rolled around, Amy woke up more excited than ever. It was her first day at South Park's Elementary School, and not only would she be able to see Kenny, but she would also be able to make some other new friends too. With that thought in mind, she jumped out of bed, took a quick shower and put on her favorite everyday outfit. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt content with her choice for the day. She wanted to look nice and presentable for the first day of school, but at the same time, she knew how kids could be mean to girls who tried way too hard to look pretty. Though Amy definitely liked to dress up every once in a while, she decided against it this time. 

Once she had finished breakfast, she bid her parents goodbye and made her way to the bus stop. Today was gonna be a fantastic day, Amy could feel it!

Kenny was, as usual, kinda glad to be going to school on Monday. Saturday had been shit and he’d stayed in his room with his headphones in playing video games, just so he didn’t have to listen to his parents fighting for the five thousandth time. They were sulking and hungover on Sunday, so that was better, since he got to spend the day with Karen after she came home from Tricia’s.

School - where he was out of their way; with his friends; and definitely going to get fed - had always been a welcome distraction. He wasn’t exactly a star student but he wasn’t dumb as shit either, so it was pretty much ok, if a little boring. 

This Monday though, Kenny knew it wouldn’t be boring. He could see Amy again...and rub it in the guys’ faces that they already knew each other. He got to the bus stop on time for once and there she was. 

“Hey.” He said as he walked up, excited to see nobody else was there yet. 

Amy was staring into space, when suddenly a familiar voice pulled her out of her daze. She turned towards the sound and couldn't help but smile when she saw the boy in the orange parka, Kenny, walking up to her. "Hey." She replied with a small wave, trying not to creep him out with her excitement, but smiling nonetheless. 

"Guess I arrived early today! Haven't seen anyone yet." She tried to sound disappointed but in reality, she was happy that Kenny was the first one to greet her. Starting school in a new place could be extremely scary for some people, and she wasn't excluded from that. It felt good to know she had at least one friend to make the experience a little more pleasant. "So, first day in a new school... Any tips for me?"

“Yeah I do, ignore everything Eric Cartman says. He’s an asshole.” Kenny nodded in their direction and turned back to wink at her. Amy seemed happy to see him and he couldn’t deny he was the same way. She was probably just happy not to be alone though. Kenny knew that feeling - she had really cheered him up on Saturday. It wasn’t so early now though, and the guys would be here soon, so he figured he’d have to introduce everyone. Right on cue, he could hear Fatass and Kyle arguing already, the bickering getting louder as they got closer. Amy needed that particular tip. 

She giggled at him, loving the way he was just blunt about everything and didn't give a damn. From a distance, she could see three boys walking up to them, and even though they were slightly far away, she could hear the chubbier one having a heated argument with the one in the green hat. As they walked closer, she started to feel a little bit nervous. Amy had no idea how they were gonna react to her being there. She didn't know if they were gonna be friendly like Kenny, if they were gonna be mean or if they would just ignore her completely. Either way, she could still feel her stomach churn with anxiety.

Kenny could see she was trying to hide how nervous she was, and felt bad for her. Eric was likely going to be a dick and it couldn’t be easy always being the new kid. He put his gloved hand on her shoulder to reassure her and said quietly. “Don’t worry, they’re my friends. Cartman is just...Cartman.” He gave her a squeeze and then quickly let go before anyone noticed. Amy could feel her face grow slightly warmer when Kenny gently squeezed her arm. She looked down at her feet to try and hide it, and felt extremely glad for her thick mane of curly black hair. 

By then, the others had arrived and he could make out they were fighting about the whole Coon thing _again_. They looked warily at the girl next to him. The argument was instantly abandoned, probably because Eric didn’t want Amy to hear any of it. “Oh yeah, this is Amy, she’s new.” Kenny explained with a hint of smugness. 

Kenny had introduced her before they had the chance to ask, which Amy was thankful for. Lifting her gaze from the floor, she looked at the boys and gave a shy smile, waving at them with a little ‘hey’. They actually seemed to be nice enough despite all the arguing. 

The guys greeted Amy’s presence more or less how Kenny expected - Kyle was polite, Stan was indifferent and Cartman was snotty. It was a little awkward and he was pretty glad when the bus came. Cartman went to sit with Butters and so Kenny decided to sit with Amy, even after he whistled at them. “Fuck you fatass!” Kenny laughed. “Just cos no girls would want to sit by you.”

Amy had to admit she found all that commotion really funny. Kids their age couldn't see a boy and a girl interacting with each other without acting like animals in a zoo. "Hey...so, what were your friends talking about before they saw me with you? It seemed pretty serious to get them so mad!" Amy noticed that Kenny became suddenly uncomfortable when she asked.

Kenny thought for a moment. He did want Amy to be their friend, but there were things they kept within their group. He figured he could tell her at least something. “Oh, yeah...it’s just this superhero game. Cartman always gets mad and thinks he’s the boss of everyone.” He explained quietly. It sounded super lame out loud, especially since he definitely couldn’t tell her how much more real it was for him. “It’s dumb.” He added quickly, hiding his face. 

She didn't quite understand why he looked so embarrassed by it. I mean, it’s normal for kids to play pretend, right? Amy started worrying that she might have crossed the line with her curiosity, so she put on her best carefree smile to try and ease up the situation. "I don't think it’s dumb. It sounds fun, actually!"

Kenny looked up at Amy. “Really?” He smiled. “Hardly any of the girls are into it, but you can totally play with us if you want?” He immediately wondered if he shouldn’t have said that, but he figured he could get around Cartman if he complained about it. Amy seemed cool to him.

"Well, if it’s okay for you guys, then I'd love to play!" She said with excitement. Amy was not expecting this invitation at all. She just hoped that the other boys would accept her into their game as well. Cartman seemed to be a difficult guy to convince, and if what Kenny said was true and he was the kind to try and control everyone, then she guessed she'd have to work on her arguments if she wanted to convince him to let her play. "Back in Washington, the kids I used to hang out were never really interested this kind of stuff. They were all too busy discussing whose toy was better and just being general brats. I'm glad you guys aren't like that, though!"

She was clearly up for it now and Kenny didn’t have the heart to take it back, even if Cartman would definitely kick up shit about her being there. Probably one or two of the others as well. Maybe if he could get Wendy to come out tonight too... He was thinking too much again. “Sure, be ready at 7. Where’s your new house?” 

"My house is right beside the bus stop, the big red one. You can't miss it!" Amy told him with with a big smile. At that moment, all her first day nervousness had disappeared. She was already thinking about her superhero persona. She'd have to use all her creativity for this.

So she lived next door to Butters, perfect. He - or rather Mysterion - would appear for her tonight, catch her off guard and see what she was made of. He decided he would just have to see if she was cut out for this first. Kenny only smiled back in response. Mysterion was nothing if not...mysterious after all.

*

They arrived at school in no time. Even though that whole game thing was super exciting, Amy had to put it aside for now. She had to focus on class if she wanted to make up for the lost time. Otherwise her parents would kill her, and then she wouldn't be able to play anything or see Kenny again. That's something she could not let happen.

At school, Kenny got lucky as Amy was put at a desk on his right side, between him and Token. Kenny was secretly pleased, though he didn’t let anything show. He would just get ripped on for having a crush - which he _so_ didn’t - or for being ‘gay’ and hanging out with girls. Some of the kids in their class were idiots just like their parents, whereas Kenny had always let his parents bullshit inspire him to be _less_ like they were.

Amy couldn't help but notice the stares people were sending her way. She didn't know if it was just because she was a new kid or if it was because she had barely ever left Kenny's side. It made her feel slightly self-conscious, as she didn't want to have people starting rumors about her on her first day. The teacher announced her presence to the students, asking her to get up and introduce myself. She did as she was asked, shyly getting up and walking to the front of the classroom. "Um... Hi everyone. My name is Amy Lynch and I just moved here from Washington." She said in a small voice.

Kenny caught Amy’s eye while she spoke to the class. Knowing these kids, he wouldn’t like to be the one doing it. He gave her a cheeky little smile, hoping it would make her feel better. The way she gravitated to him so easily didn’t bother him, in fact, it reminded him of Karen. That’s just who he was - a protector. He crossed his fingers (in his head) that people at school would be nice to her.

Amy could see the entire class looking with curious or bored eyes, which made her even more nervous. She caught Kenny's gaze for a moment, and even though she couldn't really see through the hood, she could tell by his eyes that he was smiling. "Alright Amy, welcome to our class. Be nice to her, everyone, it’s not easy to be a stranger in a new town! You can go back to your seat now." The teacher said. 

Without hesitation, Amy did as she said and practically dropped down on her seat. She looked at Kenny in search of comfort, but just as she was about to say something, she felt someone tap her shoulder. "What's up? I'm Token." The boy sitting on her right side spoke with a smile. "Did you really come from Washington? I went there with my parents once."

Kenny played absently with his pencil, listening in on what Token was saying to Amy. Chances were, she would bond with him over their being way more similar than her and him. The teacher was calling for quiet so he just tried to get on with what they were doing. What did it matter if the new girl stayed his friend, anyway? Dumb girls. He had seen Bebe smile at her so Amy was probably already one of them… At least he had helped make her feel less lonely.

Amy had chatted with Token for a little while, just talking about silly things, but soon the conversation died down. He seemed to be a nice boy, but probably not the kind of kid she would spend hours talking with about everything. She tried to get Kenny's attention a couple of times during class, but he just seemed...distant. She didn't know why and started to wonder if maybe she had done or said something that made him upset, but class had only begun a few minutes ago. That thought kept creeping through her mind until the recess bell rang and everyone hurriedly walked outside. 

Kenny didn't steal as much as a glance towards her, which made her even more confused and a little upset. She walked after him when he went to the playground with his friends, and waited for moment to catch him by himself. "Hey... What's up?" Amy said with a little awkward smile when she got the chance. "We didn't really talk much during class..."

Kenny looked up excitedly at Amy before he could stop himself. He was honestly not expecting her to speak to him much more today unless it was to rain check on the whole superhero thing, now she had found better kids to hang out with. He tried to pass it all off as cool though. “Oh yeah, hey, I didn’t want you to get in trouble on your first day.” Kenny said with a glance at Kyle, asking him with his eyes not to make a big deal of her coming over to them. “How do you like our lame little school so far?”

Amy chuckled, finding it kinda cute how he thought she was going to hate things in South Park. "I actually really like it! People talk to each other here, differently from the schools in Washington and those places." She said with a little eye roll as she remembered how arrogant most kids in the city were. "I think I'm going to like it here!" Amy still hadn't made any other actual friends besides Kenny, though. Token was nice, but she didn't really consider him a friend yet, and she didn’t think she would ever become really close to him. There were the girls too, but she hadn't spoken with any of them yet. She guessed she just felt more comfortable sticking with Kenny for the moment. 

Kenny watched Amy as she happily chatted about South Park Elementary like she really thought it was a good place. His instinct was to make fun of her for it but it was nice to have someone come from outside and not just think it was a shitty little mountain town full of trash. Even though it kinda was. Trash like him. Her positivity was cute. So was she…

"Are you guys all friends?" She asked him, motioning towards the other kids that were standing near him. Amy recognized some of them from the bus stop earlier, but didn't really remember their names.

Kenny snapped himself out of it. “Uh yeah, I guess so.” Sure, they all ripped on each other but that’s just guys and if he had to say, then they mostly all were friends. He waved them all over and pushed his hood back from his face. Amy was surprised when Kenny took his hood down. She realised she had never truly seen his face, so it was interesting to finally get a good look at him. His face had very gentle features and his mane of messy golden hair really brought out the striking blue of his eyes. She was careful as to not stare at him, of course, so she wouldn’t be teased by his friends.

“Hey, this is Amy...that’s Butters, he lives next door to you. This is Tweek and Craig, they’re gay as fuck. You remember Kyle, Stan...and Cartman.” Kenny rolled his eyes so only she could see, hoping she remembered his warning. 

When he introduced her to the boys, Amy made sure to give a smile and a little wave, trying her best to be friendly. The three boys she had met earlier at the bus stop were already familiar, and she definitely remembered the warning Kenny gave her about Cartman. Aside from that, all boys seemed cool. The little one, Butters, was definitely the sweetest of them all, and the two boys that were a couple looked very cute together.

Tweek managed a nervous ‘hey’ and Stan a bored one. Craig flipped Kenny off for the description of him and his boyfriend and he just grinned back. Kenny loved pushing his buttons. Kyle welcomed her to South Park and Cartman surveyed the whole scene with a look in his eye Kenny didn’t like. Butters was as excitable as ever. “Oh boy, a new neighbour? That’s great! The old family that lived in your house only had a little baby, so I couldn’t really be friends with them…” He smiled hopefully at her. Poor little guy. 

Kenny flicked the messy bangs out of his face and dragged his hood back up. He didn’t take his hood down at school very often. Any other time it was only if he had something important to say, but he knew Amy wasn’t as used to making out his muffled words as his friends were, and he wanted her to feel ok. 

Amy smiled widely at Butters, who was already one of the most adorable kids she’d ever met in her life. The only one that didn't say a word was Cartman, which made her a little nervous. She already knew he didn't like her very much, but she couldn't really tell the extent of that dislike. The way he was looking at her made her feel like he was staring right through her soul, and it made her really uncomfortable. In an attempt to ease the weird feeling in her gut, Amy turned back to Kenny and tried to find something - anything - to break that atmosphere. "Sooo, do they all play superheroes too?" She asked in a casual tone, just saying the first thing that came to her mind. She wasn't sure if she should really talk about that in front of everyone, but it was the only thing she could think to say.

Cartman raised an eyebrow at Kenny when Amy said that and cut him off before he could answer her. “Unfortunately, Amy, Kenny here is poor white trash and also girls can’t play superheroes.” Amy’s face fell at heard Cartman's words.

“Hey! Fuck you!” Kenny said as Stan looked torn.

“Well...I mean...Wendy is Ca-”

“Stan, that’s not important right now.” Cartman held up a hand to silence him before he revealed any more secrets. He smiled sweetly at Amy and they all waited to see what was going to come next.

Kenny pulled Amy to one side so the guys would think he was telling her not to play with them. Letting her down easy. He spoke quietly, still ashamed of what Eric said about him. “He’s a dick but don’t worry, tonight is still on. Go talk to Wendy for now, she’s nice.” Kenny said apologetically. He felt bad for her but he was also embarrassed as hell.

"Alright. Just try not to get yourself in trouble with Mr. Angry Pants over there!" She said, giving him a conspiratorial wink before walking away. Kenny was a little dumbstruck at Amy seamlessly playing along. She didn’t freak out at all. Wow. 

Taking his advice, Amy headed towards the other side of the playground where all the girls were standing, approaching them with a smile.

“Hi, Amy right?” Wendy said. The new girl didn’t seem like an airhead, the way some of her friends could be, and she hoped that was true. It would be nice to have another girl to talk to about something other than hair. She did have nice hair - and clothes too - but she seemed cool.

"That's me!" Amy replied. 

“I hope the boys weren’t assholes to you.”

"Most of them were nice. Cartman's the only real asshole over there.” She rolled her eyes at the boy's terrible attitude. At least Kenny and the other boys were cool with her presence, despite Cartman's behavior. 

Wendy nodded. “They’re ok. Stan is actually my boyfriend but yep, Cartman is the worst.” She agreed. 

Amy nodded, making a mental note to keep a respectful distance from Stan in case she was the jealous type. She didn't really sound like it, but you never know. Wendy seemed different from the other girls. While she was still interested in ordinary girl things, she also seemed like the type of girl who liked to think and to face a challenge. Amy could see them being good friends.

"So, what do you like to do around here?" Amy asked the girls, in an attempt to make conversation. She had always felt more at ease around boys than girls.

Wendy shrugged. She hated small talk. “Same thing as most places probably - shop, have sleepovers. Some of us are on the volleyball team and cheer squad and stuff. I’m class president too, so I guess I like doing all different stuff.” She eyed the new girl with a small smile, her curiosity piqued about what her and Kenny had been so secretive about. Amy seemed cool and if the boys were actually friends with her then maybe she could be too. She got tired with Bebe and the others sometimes.

"I see... Are the volleyball team and cheer squad the only clubs here?" She asked with interest, wondering if they would have any art or music clubs in this school like they had back in Washington. She knew she couldn't ask much of a little mountain town like South Park, especially if compared with big cities, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

Wendy shook her head. “No, there are lots of things.” She smiled. “You can ask Mr Mackey about all of them. Depends what you’re into...or _who_ you’re into.” Wendy smiled knowingly with a wink, dying to find out about her and Kenny’s whispering together.

Amy felt her cheeks burn at Wendy's teasing, knowing she was implying that she had something with Kenny. She was realising gossip spread fast in quiet little mountain towns. "I'm not into anyone..." She defended herself, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I've only been here a day, I think it’s a little early to think about that." She didn't know why it bothered her so much. It wasn’t like she actually had a crush on Kenny... 

“I was kidding.” She said, smoothly letting her off the hook, though she was still itching to know what they had been talking about, and why he had sent her over to them. It was fairly obvious Amy liked Kenny a little but if she didn’t want to share, that was fine. Kenny could be really sweet, so Wendy felt no need to discourage her either.

"It's alright!" Amy replied with a little chuckle. 

“I guess I was just...curious, since the boys don’t often want to talk to us.” Wendy said carefully. They talked to _her_ , at school because of Stan and other times because...well...superheroes stuck together. Apart from that, there was a clear divide.

"Kenny was just the first kid I met when I got here, so I guess it’s just natural to stick to someone you know." She didn't have anything to hide, right? She could feel all the girls' eyes on her at that moment, and knew exactly what they were thinking. Unfortunately, it appeared there was no way around their thoughts, so she would just have to bear it. “We bumped into each other at the playground when I was having a walk the other day." She wasn't going to tell them that she had actually been the one to approach him on that day, because that would probably just make them speculate even more. 

Wendy nodded, understanding completely. “Kenny’s really nice so you got lucky running into him first. She rolled her eyes. Some of the boys were boring and some were just horrible. “So do you live near him and Kyle then?” Wendy asked, wondering if they would be neighbours. If, by chance, she would be into joining Freedom Pals, they could be an awesome girl hero duo... Wendy needed to chill, she was getting ahead of herself in big plans as usual.

Amy thought about her question for a second, concluding that she had no idea of where Kenny actually lived. He had told her something about her living next to Butters, but wasn't sure whether that was close to Kenny's house or not. "I'm not really sure." She finally replied. "I think my house is next to Butters'.” Amy started to wonder if Wendy was part of the boys' superhero group as well. Why would Kenny send her specifically to her if she didn't have anything to do with it?

“Ohhh yes, I know the house.” She smiled. “I’m down that way a lot...Stan lives on your street, you see.” Amy lived in the middle of town, not really near her or Kenny but it didn’t matter. That was also the street where they often met and played as Freedom Pals. She would let Amy and Kenny do their own thing, and not interfere. She only hoped Amy wouldn’t judge the boy like some people did. His parents were awful but that wasn’t his fault.

The bell rang for the end of recess before they could discuss it, though.

After saying goodbye to the girls, Amy walked back to her locker and picked up the things she was going to need for next class. Even though she was having a good time so far, she still had to focus on school above everything. Her parents wanted her to keep a high standard on my grades, no matter how big or small the town they lived in was. She guessed it wasn't too much to ask.


	3. Chapter 3

Kenny kept sneaking glances at Amy during the afternoon, since he often found it hard to concentrate in school anyway. He wasn’t as dumb like Clyde but he wasn’t smart like Wendy either, plus he hated Math and that’s what they were doing. He was trying to picture her as part of the superhero gang, and failing. To be fair, it was hard to picture most of them as their alter egos when they were in their regular clothes. He had planned what might work as a test for her. The others would accept nothing less than her proving herself, but he really wanted her to pass...

When he got home, his dad and Kevin were nowhere to be seen and his mom was asleep on the couch. He made Karen and himself some sandwiches for dinner but found her upset when he went to give her hers. “What’s wrong?” Kenny asked, frowning. She was hugging her blanket to her and it made him notice she didn’t have her favourite toy, or she would be clutching that instead. “Where’s your dolly?” 

She looked like she had been crying. “Lucy took her.” Karen told him in a small voice. Lucy was in her class and was the younger sister of this sixth grade asshole that always messed with Kenny and his friends. The kid always picked on her so clearly their whole family were bullies. 

“I’ll get her back for you, Karen.” He promised. She looked up at him all hopeful.

“You will? How?” She asked and he just smiled. Mysterion always had a plan…

Kenny comforted Karen and played with her until she stopped sniffling. He was thankful she ate what he had made her, since he wasn’t sure if she would have eaten anything else today. After that, they sat on the floor by their passed out mother and watched cartoons. Around six-thirty Kyle texted and asked him to come over and play xbox, but he lied and said they were alone so he didn’t want to leave Karen. Not long after that, Kenny told her he was indeed going to Kyle’s and that she should go play in her room. She hugged him hard round the waist and Kenny smiled. His little sister was the only thing that mattered in his shitty life.

He went into his own room and closed the door, before putting on his Mysterion outfit. It always made him feel a little stronger, bolder. Behind the black mask, he could be anyone and he was fearless. Being immortal, he didn’t exactly fear much anyway, but as him he could protect Karen, fight crime, scare his parents straight for a while...anything. 

Amy had been thinking about what would happen that night during most of the day. She already had most of her superhero persona figured out, so she would just have to pick a costume once she got home. This was going to be exciting.

When she got home after school, she went straight up to her room and started rummaging through her stuff in hopes of finding a good costume. She had a lot of stuff kept from previous Halloweens, plus old clothes in general, so it didn't take too long to separate a few pieces that could work together. She wanted her costume to be as badass and striking as possible, to make a statement to the boys who didn’t want her to play. Girl superheroes could be as awesome as boys, and Amy was definitely going to prove that to them. 

Once she was done dressing up, she looked in the mirror and smiled. She was definitely looking hot. Well, at least as hot as a ten-year-old girl could look. She felt a step closer to becoming the awesome superhero she wanted to be. She realised that, since she was an assassin type superhero, she was probably going to need a weapon, even though she didn't really wanna hurt anyone for real. With that thought in mind, she snuck out of her room and tiptoed through the corridors, being careful to not attract her parents' attention as she cautiously opened the attic door and climbed the built-in stairs. 

The attic was a place her dad had said was out of limits, because that's where he was going to store all of his hunting material. Amy walked through the small collection of guns and rifles up to where he stored his collectible knives. She knew she shouldn't be doing that, but she decided to push her conscience aside and picked a small retractable pocket knife. Praying that no one would hear, she crept back out of the attic and closed the little door, hiding the closed knife in her pocket as she innocently made her way back to her room.

Kenny made his way stealthily through the streets until he was leaning on the side of Butters’ house. He watched the activity in the red house next door until he figured out which window was Amy’s, before excitedly climbing the Stotch’s huge tree. Peering around, ensuring she wasn’t looking, he crept over to her slightly open window. “Hey, new kid...Amy right? I hear you want to join us?” Kenny said in his Mysterion voice, perched on her windowsill and secretly pleased when she startled at first.

Amy gasped in surprise. She turned around to find a boy apparently around her age, dressed in a dark superhero costume. "Jesus, you scared me half to death!" Amy said with a frown that barely reached her eyes. "Do you guys always go around sneaking into other people's houses like that?" 

She was a little shocked by the fact that he actually managed to climb all the way up to the window. It was actually a little creepy if you stopped to think about it, but she thought best not to dwell on it too much, since she had known superheroes were the plan tonight. Of course she was kidding, but there was a little hint of truth in the question. She wasn't really used to living in a place where everybody knew each other and had the liberty to just come over whenever they wanted, so, it was a bit surprising to say the least. Also, she wasn't really sure who that kid actually was. The black mask and hood made it almost impossible to figure out any facial features other than his mouth and nose. 

As Amy got closer and took a more attentive look at the stranger's face, she suddenly recognized his eyes. Even though it had only been a day, she was pretty sure she'd recognize those baby blues anywhere. "Is that you, Kenny?" Amy asked with a curious voice, probably getting a little too close to his face for comfort.

Kenny was so taken aback by the question that he was sure it must have showed on his face, his hard expression softening into slack-jawed surprise. Some of his best friends had spoken to Mysterion for weeks and never figured out it was him until he revealed myself. This girl had spoken to him what, three times? He frowned, trying to process it all and decide what to say. Shit. He had planned on remaining hidden until later, after all. 

“Kenny? I don’t know anyone named Kenny. I am Mysterion.” He growled, regaining his voice. “Also...yes, I do watch over the city in secret. I wanted to see if you were prepared.” He knew she probably would know he was full of shit, but hoped she would at least play along. Calming down with a deep breath, Kenny finally took in her own disguise. Damn, she looked great! She was so close to him, he could smell her shampoo just like on the bus this morning. This was not going the way he had expected at all…

Mysterion was always cool but Kenny was freaking out a little.

She didn't really know what Mysterion's deal was, or even what type of superhero he was supposed to be, but for some reason she already liked him. That dark vibe was pretty intriguing. Of course she couldn't be sure of his identity, because the costume covered his entire face and his voice was also abnormally low for a 10 year old kid, but something told Amy that she had seen this boy before. Since he seemed distraught that she had dared to guess who he was, she decided to just leave it be and play along.

"Yes...Mysterion. I'm ready to become a superhero!" Amy said with a confident voice, raising an eyebrow at him and giving a little smirk. 

Kenny knew she was totally on to him, but was thankful she didn’t force him to admit who he was. It seemed like she was super bold and sure of herself...maybe even flirty too. That wasn’t something he was going to complain about. The girls there didn’t really want to flirt with him, but he tried to stay serious. Mysterion didn’t get excited about trivial shit. Kenny could think about her and her pretty big eyes through that mask later... “Good, we have an important mission for you. Follow me.” He told her and disappeared stealthily down the tree, waiting in the garden for her. Mysterion was as close to a ninja as Freedom Pals got. 

Amy watched as Mysterion climbed out of the window and onto the tree in front of it, making his way down with incredible ease. He really did look like a mix of Batman and Spiderman, which was pretty cool, but she was definitely not doing that too. Instead, she simply made her way down the stairs and towards the front door, using her best light stepper ability. Ever since she had learned how to walk, she was known for being extremely quiet in everything she did. It always caused her parents to get a fright whenever she approached them from behind to say something. It was definitely a good ability for an assassin-like superhero. Making sure to lock the door on her way out, Amy walked towards Mysterion, who was already waiting for her underneath the tree. "Not really a climber myself, sorry." She said with a shrug.

“Not a problem - Freedom Pals have a lot of different skills, you’re an assassin aren’t you?” She had a lot of stealth. “That’s perfect for our mission. We have stolen goods to get back.” He smirked a little, knowing the ‘goods’ were just his sister’s ragdoll, but he never could help getting all dark and serious as Mysterion. That was half the fun of his alter ego. Kenny couldn’t remember if he had ever mentioned the name of their group before, but he pulled her into the shadows and stared at her for a bit, waiting to see what she would make of it. 

Amy gave a mischievous little smirk, kinda liking the idea of having to recover stolen stuff. That definitely seemed like the perfect type of job for her and her light feet. She wondered what those "stolen goods" were, though. It couldn't be anything too serious because they were just kids, after all. No matter what it was, if it was stolen, they were going to recover it. 

"Alright, then! Lead the way." She said with the smirk still on her face, trying hard not to sound too excited, despite feeling like she was going to burst. They had barely started this whole superhero thing and she was already so into it. 

Amy was just...wow. Kenny couldn’t properly explain but she was just fun and chill and - like him - a little bit mysterious. He had to stay in character, though, and led her through the houses until they came to the right one. He knew this house because it wasn’t the first time he had had to watch the girl who lived there. Like his own house, it was all on one level, and they snuck into the backyard to peek in the window for a moment. 

There sat a blonde girl with a mean face, playing on her iPad. On the floor at the foot of her bed, Karen’s favourite toy lay forgotten. They ducked back down below the window ledge. “That’s Lucy.” Mysterion explained in a whisper. “She’s a bully. She stole a little girl’s doll just to upset her, did you see it?” Kenny hated Lucy and her little friends.

Amy analyzed the girl and couldn't help but agree that she looked like trouble. She was a little surprised that the stolen object was just a little old ragdoll, but decided not to mention it. If it was stolen, they had to retrieve it, and Amy felt like this doll was somehow important for Mysterion. If it wasn't, then they wouldn't be here. 

"Alright, I think we need to create a distraction." She spoke after a couple of moments, trying to think of a way to sneak into the girl's room without being noticed. "I can sneak into the room without making much noise, but she needs to leave for at least a few minutes. Any ideas?" 

Amy was catching on quick, and she didn’t question why the hell Kenny might want a doll back so bad. She was looking like a great addition to Freedom Pals already. He knew just how he could distract Lucy, too. “Perfect, I can get rid of her, you’ll see. I like your thinking…” He paused when he realised he didn’t know Amy’s superhero persona. “Wait, what’s your name, hero?” 

She smiled at him, but immediately felt silly for not telling him her superhero name. They had been so caught up in this whole mission thing that she just forgot to mention it. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize I hadn't told you." Amy said with a little embarrassed chuckle. "I'm Killer Queen!" Her voice expressed the same confidence she was feeling. "So, shall we, then?"

Kenny glanced at her. “I like that, it suits you.” He told her honestly, and then did a last check of Lucy’s room before nodding. Yep, her home phone was lying right there on her nightstand. 

“Ready?” He asked lowly and without wasting any time, pulled out his cell phone, dialled the number (found by Wendy of course) and peeked through the window to watch as she picked it up. Yes! Putting on his best ‘girl’ voice, practiced enough times as The Princess, he made his play, “Oh Lucy, is your mother there?” 

“Hold on.” The girl looked bored but thankfully got off her bed and left the room. Kenny nodded to Amy and held his breath. 

Amy had no idea how Mysterion had gotten that number but felt like it would be better not to dwell on it right then. Once the girl was out of the room, she quickly sneaked in through the window and wasted no time in snatching the doll. She was going to just take the thing and leave, but at the last minute suddenly had a feeling in her gut that this girl deserved a little more punishment than that. So, with a mischievous look in her eye, Amy took out her - borrowed - pocket knife and walked towards one of the girls' many dumb posters and quickly carved a phrase with the mastery of a sculptor.

‘Set a thief to catch a thief.’ It said.

Kenny watched Amy grab the doll and hesitate, making him panic that she was taking too long. Lucy had already passed the phone over. “Hello?” Lucy’s mother answered and he stayed silent for a moment, drawing it out. eventually , he hung up on her and couldn’t help smiling in awe as Amy defaced the bitch’s poster. 

With one last satisfied chuckled, Amy ran back out the window and grinned at Mysterion. "I have a feeling she's gonna think twice next time she wants to steal something from someone!

They crumpled to the grass together, out of sight. “That was awesome, Queen.” Kenny told her proudly, taking the toy back. “There’s a little girl whose night you just made by completing this mission.” He said, clutching Karen’s doll tightly. He was trying hard to make sure to stay in character, though all he wanted to do was rip off his mask and laugh with Amy about what they had done.

Amy replied with a big smile, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins after the sudden act of revenge. "I'm really happy to hear that. I hope my message to that bully comes across!" She said with a satisfied look on her face, feeling proud to have helped make a little girl's night better. "I'm glad I was able to help. This was really fun!" For some reason, there was this sudden excitement building in her stomach about the things that would come in the future. Seemed like moving to South Park was really not a bad idea after all.

Kenny nodded, thoughts racing through his head as he tried to decide how best to introduce her to the others. By stealth, so that Cartman would be outnumbered and have to do what they want. Kenny was gleefully imagining his tantrum already. “We could definitely use you as part of Freedom Pals, but we have to be clever about it...if you still want to join us, that is?” He asked. She had skills, but she was also a pretty girl and they could _definitely_ use that on their team. Wendy was off limits _and_ she was always complaining about not having more female heroes.

"Yeah, I definitely want to!" Amy said with excitement, already looking forward to being part of the group. "Do you think they'll let me in?" The boys hadn't seemed very happy with the idea of a girl joining their superhero group. Cartman had made it clear that he didn't want her to play with them, so she wondered if that would be a problem. If he did want to make a big deal out of it, she guessed they'd just have to find a way around it. Mysterion seemed like a smart boy, so she trusted that he would find a way to fix whatever came their way.

Kenny nodded slowly at her confirmation. He had no idea how smoothly it would go, but pulled out his phone again and started scrolling through his messages. “There’s strength in numbers, Killer Queen, and there’s only one asshole in the group. Our motto is ‘retribution _with_ inclusion...so there are also people who will want to help.” After sending a quick text to Wendy and one to Kyle, he grinned when both of them quickly texted back their agreement, stuffing his phone triumphantly back into his pocket . “If you can stay out a little longer, that is?” 

Amy smiled back at Mysterion, finding it really sweet how he was so willing to help her get accepted into the group. At that moment, she had a feeling that even if the boys were to give her a hard time, she would still have Mysterion to rely on, no matter what happened. "Yeah, I think I can stay a bit longer. My parents have no idea I sneaked out anyway!" She replied with a chuckle, secretly praying that her mom or dad wouldn't come to check on her before she went back.

“Then let’s go!” Kenny told her and started to lead her through the streets. There was a path that ran alongside Kyle’s house, near his own, where they often met away from the beady eyes of their ‘leader’. Wendy would come from her house on the north of town down that pathway too. Amy allowed Mysterion to guide her through the streets, trusting that he would lead them the right way. They walked for a little while, going through some of the houses she had memorized by color on her first day here, and also some houses that she didn't recognize.

When they arrived, Kenny saw that Stan was there too, no doubt dragged there by his girlfriend. ‘Or his boyfriend...’ Kenny thought to himself with a smirk. “Pssst.” He hissed at the black haired girl from the shadows, keeping Amy behind him. “Thanks for that number - our mission was a success.” 

“What do you mean ‘our’ mission?” Wendy smiled curiously at him, as Kyle watched suspiciously and Stan played on his phone. Kenny pulled Amy out into the light of the street lamp to join him.

“Kite, Shed, Call Girl...this is Killer Queen, our newest Freedom Pal.”

Amy recognized the one that wasn't wearing a mask. They seemed a little surprised at the late night meeting, and when Mysterion pulled her from behind him and introduced her superhero persona to the kids, she couldn't help but notice their curious stares. "Hey, guys!" She said with a shy wave, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious of her position. "Thanks for letting me join the group!"

Wendy smiled. “Awesome! We could use some more girls on the team.” Kenny was fairly sure she knew it was Amy. Stan stopped scrolling through Facebook to watch the discussion as Kyle nodded then frowned. 

“I mean I don’t mind, I think it’s pretty cool actually.” He looked kindly at Amy and then back to Kenny. “But you know fatass is going to freak out.”

“It’s true, he’ll be a total dick about this.” Stan added.

“That’s why I came to you guys, because we need to stand together.” Kenny explained. “We have to get everyone on our side.”

“I’m down.” Wendy put her hands defiantly on her hips. 

“Fine. I’ll text Tweek and Craig.” Kyle agreed. Stan chewed his lip, anticipating the shitstorm they would get when Cartman found out. Kenny personally thought it would be fucking hilarious.

Amy watched the boys' scared expressions. It was surreal to believe that a single kid could cause this level of stress in a such a large group of people, to the point where they needed to literally team up to deal with his wrath. Of course she didn't really know Cartman, so maybe their concerns were justified. Amy supposed she wouldn't know until shit blew up in their faces.

Kenny couldn’t help but smile, his serious persona dropping a little while Kyle typed out his text. “Hey, don’t worry about it, you were great...and don’t worry about Cartman either.”

Amy turned to look at him and gave him a reassuring grin. "Well, I've never been one to run from a fight! Thanks for going out of your way to make me feel included. I don't really know exactly what we're dealing with yet, but I'm sure we can manage it."

He could see the others watching them, particularly Wendy, so he tried to go back to acting cool and ‘mysterious’. “We’re not dealing with anything but an asshole. We just need to _tell_ him what’s what so he can’t argue.”

"Alright." Amy replied. "I'm sure it’s gonna be fine!"

Kyle nodded absently, glancing back to his phone to read the reply. “Tweek and Craig are cool but they’re not coming out tonight.” He informed us with a roll of his eyes, pissed that he got dressed in his costume and came outside for nothing. “They’ll tell all the others and we can meet tomorrow, ok? I have to go home before my mom notices.” He jogged off into his backyard and Stan looked torn.

“Can’t wait. Stan will you walk me home?” Wendy asked, and they left.

Kyle had pointed out the fact that it was getting late, which Amy confirmed after seeing the time on her phone. Her parents hadn't noticed that she was gone, but she didn't want to push her luck. It would totally suck to get grounded on her first week in a new town. Especially now that she had managed to be accepted into such a cool group of friends.

"I should probably go too. If my parents find out I sneaked out, I'm gonna be in huge trouble!" She said, looking at everyone and then back at Mysterion. "If you happen to meet the little girl that owns this doll, tell her that she can count on me to help her deal with any bullies in the future!" She told him with a wink, having a strong feeling that this girl was probably related to him somehow.

Kenny smiled faintly at Amy - Killer Queen - when she said she had to go. He should have been used to it, but he was always a little envious and sad when people's parents worried about them. Sure, if something bad happened to him right in front of her face, his mom would be upset. Maybe his dad too. He had died in their presence before and of course they cared...they just...were often too drunk to remember they even had kids to care about. 

Amy’s words reminded him about Karen, his only reason for going home sometimes. Kenny nodded. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it." He told her. Truth was, he appreciated it too. A true friend he could count on wasn't something he always felt he had, until now.


End file.
